Thanks to the pro-Marcos online propaganda machinery years in operation which sought to repaint Marcos Sr’s dictatorship as a golden age, and a strategic tandem with popular candidate Sara Duterte, now President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. secured his win during the Presidential Elections 2022.

Upon the Marcos family's return to Malacañang on 30 June 2022, expectations ran high for a continuation of a familiar political narrative. However, a year into his presidency, the new Marcos regime has revealed a conspicuous lack of backbone. 

Marcos has so far been synonymous with his two presidential traits: a proclivity for simpler, easy tasks, and a lavish, jet-set lifestyle. 

The administration's actions have taken a surprisingly nimble approach, with its first year distinguished by a singular focus on the economy. This period was marked by initiatives aimed at revitalizing business confidence and initiating easily achievable reforms. 

Unsurprisingly, these political actions were not designed to benefit the poor, despite the Philippines having a poverty incidence of 18.1% to 19.9 million Filipinos plagued by food insecurity and insufficient incomes, with the added weight of inflation motivated by the COVID-19 recession. After all, the people whose hands have become sore from applauding Marcos’s policies are elite and foreign magnates cashing in on the country’s abundant resources and billionaire-friendly bureaucracy.

Foreign affairs, on the other hand, took a 180-degree turn, away from Duterte’s efforts to strengthen ties with China and back to the wooing, love-bombing hands of the United States. The US charm offensive is urgent, with America wanting to regain its influence over the country as tensions with China increase.

Aside from undermining the dates of national holidays in favor of a long weekend strategy and the detrimental resurgence of the local mining sector, the creation of the Maharlika sovereign wealth fund has been one of Marcos’s inaugural jewels, having been met with stark scrutiny. Marcos and Duterte seem to be too blinded by the luster and sheen of coins to take into account the protrusion of Philippine debt. Regardless of the criticisms, the law has been signed alarmingly fast, even by international standards, leaving a staggering 80% of adult Filipinos mostly to completely uninformed, according to a March 2023 Social Weather Stations survey.

While the nation’s plight is met with out-of-touch and suspicious legislation, the president enjoys international trips, Formula One Grand Prix weekends, and check-ins at the poshest hotels in the world, the likes of Carlyle Hotel in New York.

Just from his first six months in office, the Office of the President’s (OP) travel expenses skyrocketed to 1453% compared to the previous year. Now, OP has increased its travel budget nearly two-fold, going from P671 million in 2023 to P1.15 billion for the forthcoming year.

President Marcos, who seemingly has had a laminectomy due to his spinelessness, has so far shown leadership favoring large businesses over its citizens racked with hardships, with the trend towards an increasing class disparity. While his presidency runs mild, his priorities have become clearer than ever.